Gov. Cuomo signs bill changing wheelchair-accessible image

The iconic white-and-blue sign marking wheelchair accessibility will soon be getting a makeover in New York.

The new law also will prevent future accessibility signs from using the word "handicapped," a term advocates say is outdated and offensive to the wheelchair-bound.

"New York has long been a leader when it comes to fighting discrimination to protect New Yorkers including people with disabilities,” Cuomo said in a statement Friday. “This bill is an important step toward correcting society’s understanding of accessibility and eliminating a stigma for more than one million New Yorkers, and I am proud to sign it into law today.”

The law will take effect in 120 days and will only apply to wheelchair-accessible signs that are newly installed or replaced after that date. Existing signs won't be impacted.

The new symbol maintains the blue-and-white imagery of the current accessibility sign, but instead leans the character forward and shows it propelling the wheelchair in motion. Advocates for the new signage -- which is already being implemented in New York City -- say it helps fight the myth that people in wheelchairs aren't active.

The bill was sponsored by a pair of lawmakers from the lower Hudson Valley: Sen. David Carlucci, D-Clarkstown, Rockland County, and Assemblywoman Sandra Galef, D-Ossining, Westchester County. The state Legislature passed the bill in June.

"New York is again leading the way by being the first state in the Nation to update our outdated 'handicap' signs with a more active, engaging symbol," Carlucci said in a statement.

Galef said the new law will help change "a negative to positive, static to mobile."

"The disability community is hindered by outdated language and symbols that stigmatize them and align them with a negative connotation or an image of immobility," Galef said.

Jon Campbell is an Albany correspondent for Gannett's New York outlets. He's been working out of the Albany Bureau since 2011, covering Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration and the state Legislature. Previously, he was the environment and health reporter for the Press &amp; Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton. A native of Lockport, Niagara County, he's an avid Bills and Sabres fan.